I'll Carry You Away from War [OPEN]

Wounded, exhausted but alive. The Riverclan leader entered his camp with the rest of his remaining clan. He had left Starlord's body at the entrance of the island and now he was standing up on the place he used to call home. The dens were still being repaired but it still looked like the camp that he remembered, despite all the harm the flood had caused. He smiled when he saw all his missing clanmates and tears of joy escaped from his eyes as he looked around at them. "We made it... we are finally here." He mewed, filled by happiness and hope. His clan... was not meant to perish. He managed to bring almost everyone back... lives were lost, there was no doubt, but they had the cats to rebuild their lives once more. Riverclan was going to rise from its ashes.

The last days events and travels had begun to take it's toll. She was surrounded by cats she did not know, and the fight was so fresh and terrifying... Staying silently by Wasppaw was the only bit of comfort the young apprentice had. But even that was soured by her older sisters loss. Dapplepaw rememered the she-cat warrior who had come crashing in, most likely saving both of their lives from that dog, at the cost of her own. She remembered the foul beast shaking her relentlessly, until she did not move anymore. She hadn't experienced the same sort of loss, after all, her mother had passed mere moments after she was born, but she hadn't wanted Wasppaw to lose her mother as well. If she had been stronger... fought harder... done better... maybe, just maybe, Swanpetal would still be among them. But this thinking could do nothing to bring her back, what was done was done. Instead, Dapplepaw refused to leave the side of Wasppaw, between her own selfishness of needing something familiar and steady nearby, and her desire to be at her sisters side as she went through her loss aiding her in her odd mission to bring back the dogs body without questioning her motives. Her jaws and legs hurt, the dog was heavy and cumbersome, but she refused to let it be something that Wasppaw did alone.

Finally, it seemed as though they were home. Dapplepaw released the neck fur of the dog and padded wearily in behind Jaystar, her pelt brushing against Wasppaw's with every step. She cast a wary look around at this strange new place - was this what they had travelled all this way for? She couldn't help but be a little incredulous, having never seen the camp before it looked like a whole lot of nothing after the flood. She had wanted to make sure that Barleytuft was okay, but they separated in their journeys before she could. Praying that she would see him again, she turned to Wasppaw and pressed her head to the other she-cat's shoulder before looking around at all of the cats she had travelled with before that were beginning to gather, searching for her brother and sister, Scorchclaw, and Magpiepaw among them.

Strom dragged his paws along the ground, every step reverberating through a numb body. His cuts and bruises throbbed, every movement of his muscles an exhausting torture that burned through his being. Cracks in the ground didn’t catch his eyes as his downturned head blankly stared at them.

He hadn’t eaten, hadn’t spoken, since that day in the mountains. Numbness had been his constant companion, broken only by overwhelming grief that surfaced when he stopped moving and let his mind wander. It was better not to think. Better not to hope.

It wasn’t like thinking was easy, anyway. At first, the spiking pain in his head had left him woozy, his mind jumbled. Later, it had settled into a feeling akin to that of a dog’s jaws wrapped around his head. The wounds from its claws had left a path through his fur that wrapped around from his brow to the base of his ear, but they had scabbed over. The same could not be said of his heart.

One step after another. Nothing mattered but following his leader, still dragging the body of Starlord. He didn’t look up, but he knew it was there. Everything, everything I ever loved, hoped for.... Where is it? He’d left a trail of unshed tears behind him his whole life, and now he’d run dry. Faintly, he could feel his tail dragging along the ground, the matted fur growing dirtier with every plodding step.

The ground was wet, but he didn’t attribute any significance to that fact. Not until Jaystar stopped ahead of him and dropped the body of his father on the ground. He stared at the patched ginger and white fur on that body, the eyes now closed as if he was peacefully sleeping. Ahead, sounds of cats yowling for joy rang through the air, but the sounds only drove the spike that had split his life apart deeper.

Weary, every part of him aching in some way, he dropped to the ground beside his father, and nuzzled close to the scent of his fur, stinking with death though it was. His eyes closed, the sound of the other cats’ joy fading as his mind drifted, and finally let the darkness take him into its soft embrace.

Scorchclaw saw a cat he had almost thought he would never see again. "Jaystar." Before he could think, the name was already slipping out. Pushing past his clanmates, the large tabby stepped to the front of the crowd. Green gaze met with green gaze. There he was, in very real flesh and fur—RiverClan's leader. After everything that had happened, he was still alive. And at that moment, Scorchclaw found himself genuinely lost for words. What was the appropriate thing to say? How did he feel now? Ever since the Gathering when Jaystar and Goldeneye's forbidden relationship had been revealed, he had thought that he would never be able to forgive the silver leader. Those feelings of betrayal had not died away. They still existed and had branded themselves into the deepest part of his being. But now that they were finally face to face again, he realized that the main emotion he felt was relief. He could not bring himself to earnestly muster up hostility.

Breaking an awkward pause, Scorchclaw dipped his head and meowed, "Welcome back." When he lifted his head again, he looked past Jaystar to the rest of the cats. His green eyes sharpened when they came to rest on an all too familiar pelt lying by the entrance to the island. Among the living cats who had returned, Dapplepaw and Wasppaw were present. They had survived. At the sight of these two cats who had come to mean much to him, a certain weight seemed to roll of his heart.

Heronflight followed Jaystar back to RiverClan, the former's head up high. The dens were not close to being finished and done, but the gray tabby still recognized where he was. We are finally here. After so many moons... we're home. He broke a smile, as he was very excited to be back after so long.

He was one of the cats that left the patrol to go back to the clans to help his clanmates in the mountains, and he was sure that they needed the help. There were - six dogs, if he remembered correctly, plus the Sharptooth that the patrol had to help take down. Eventually, the cats defeated them both. Two cats forced a rock slide to kill the Sharptooth, which they inevitably died in. They ended up saving us all... he remembered. I don't even know what their names were, he realized awkwardly.

The tom suddenly fixed his eyes on the deputy, who seemed... somewhat happy to see him? He could not say for sure but at least... it didn't seem like he disliked the idea of him coming back alive. For Jaystar, on the other side, seeing Scorchclaw alive.. just brought him joy. Despite their conflictive relationship, he had become a son to him, his successor in leadership. The leader had so many expectations of him and he was certain that if one day it was his turn to become leader, Scorchclaw would be a great one, likely better than he would ever be. The large tom stepped closer to the brown tabby and he dipped down his head yet Jaystar did not like it. Without a warning, the tom touched the deputy's forehead with his own and let the tears fall down. "I'm so glad... to see you alive... even if you hate me... I only feel the joy of seeing you here, taking care of our clan, my friend..." The tom whispered before collapsing of exhaustion. Jaystar wasn't deeply injured but the event that happened in the mountains left him out of energy completely... he just needed to close his eyes a bit and rest...

---

Hailsong finally joined the commotion and without thinkings, she left the rebuilt nursery and ran to her father's side. She dipped her muzzle in his neck's fur and she simply couldn't stop smiling with glee and relief. "Oh, papa... thanks to Starclan you're alive! Come on... I'll prepare you a nice bed of moss." The she-cat managed to put her head under his chest and slowly, the dilute calico carried the leader to the medicine cat den. However, before leaving, she turned her gaze to Scorchclaw and gave him an unusual smile. Hailsong wasn't the smiley-type but after all, they've gone through... some things could change a bit. "Thank you, Scorchclaw... for sending that patrol to save my father... for bringing the rest of the clan here. I'm in debt with you." She purred before leaving the clearing.

Magpiepaw, hard at work weaving reeds to help build a section of the new nursery - the tip of his tongue sticking out between his teeth as he concentrated - hardly noticed as the returning cats entered camp until a familiar voice rang out, one he recognized from kithood.  Dropping his reed, the small apprentice whipped around and stared wide-eyed at their leader, battered and bruised, but alive.  "J-Jaystar!"  Smiling, the bi-color tom leaped to his paws and bounded over to the patrol, purring as he caught sight of all the returning warriors and apprentices, but one in specific caught his eye near the back.  "Dapplepaw!"  Oh thank StarClan, his friend had made it!  Purring, he pushed his way through the crowd until he was at her side, narrowly avoiding bumping into her flank.  "W-Welcome home, I'm s-so glad you're....o-o-okay...!"  His fur suddenly standing on end, the wary tom backed away a pace, staring down at the body that lay between Dapplepaw and Wasppaw.  It was like nothing he had ever seen, big and muscular, with sharp teeth frozen in a snarl and large ears that hung down instead of stood up.  Is...is that...  "I-is that a...d-d-dog?!

Dapplepaw's shoulders relaxed as she saw Scorchclaw walk forward facing Jaystar. She smiled towards him when another voice cut through the air. Looking to the crowd, her expression softened as she spotted the black and white pelt of Magpiepaw heading towards her and Wasppaw. Purring along with him, the silver she-cat waved her tail in greeting. "Of course I'm alright! I had to make it back, we still haven't been able to go hunting together!" She smiled brightly at the tom, ignoring the sudden heat in her cheeks at the pleasure she felt that he had come to greet her.

That was until Magpiepaw stepped back a pace, a look of fear in his eyes, staring down at the creature that lay dead at the base of her and Wasppaw's paws. The smile slid from her face, replaced by a somber expression and she brushed lightly against Wasppaw's side. "Yes, it's a dog... Wasppaw killed it, with some help from myself and some others... But she landed the killing blow. I can tell you more about it later..." She blinked sadly, her eyes begging Magpiepaw not to ask much more, at least not at the moment. The new, confusing warm feeling in her chest returned as she continued to look at the tom, and the corner of her lip curled up ever so slightly again. "I'm happy to see you again Magpiepaw... How were the last few sunrises? Do we have nests yet? I'm exhausted..."